tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post6756918216790475710..comments2023-12-16T02:39:56.603-06:00Comments on Gordon Grice: Carpet Python Attacks ChildUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-1006770019727414632020-08-16T03:25:17.260-05:002020-08-16T03:25:17.260-05:00Any chance that 16-footer was some similar species...Any chance that 16-footer was some similar species, Colin? That would be my guess. However, I don't honestly recall where I found the info about the size of the coastal carpet python in the first place, so I won't stick to it too tenaciously! Thanks for commenting. Gordon Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068980330242909601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-55608498879956424442020-08-15T00:13:22.113-05:002020-08-15T00:13:22.113-05:00Thanks for this valuable conversation; there's...Thanks for this valuable conversation; there's a huge carpet python near my home on woodland walk my grandchildren take (at Beechmont, Queensland) and I was concerned for their safety. This allays my fears somewhat.<br />But I'm curious about your comments on record sizes: In my days as a reporter we (photographer and I) and attended a story at Currumbin Sanctuary, where a snake catcher had found a carpet python — under a chook house in neighbouring NSW — that was 16-feet long. We measured it and took photos, some four or five people supporting the weight and length of the snake. This was nearly 30 years ago; the details would still be on the Gold Coast Bulletin files. I recall at the time (pre-google) researching records (I don't recall what records) and reading the record for a carpet python was 16ft. Gordon's comments about proportions resonated with me: although the snake was long it was no thicker than my bicep (and I'm no weightlifter). Colin Pearcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10273264257482257370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-36830032323593116222013-01-10T16:21:34.028-06:002013-01-10T16:21:34.028-06:00It sounds like you were a good influence on them :...It sounds like you were a good influence on them :).Gordon Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068980330242909601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-5809134842942421452013-01-09T22:46:34.261-06:002013-01-09T22:46:34.261-06:00Well, there you hit on an interesting topic. I per...Well, there you hit on an interesting topic. I personally find them among the best of the larger snakes to work with--big enough to handle and captivate an audience, but not big enough to be dangerous (realistically)--and any bites I've sustained have been connected either to sloppy feeding practices or trying remove patches of unshed skin, rookie screwups. The snakes were otherwise perfect and it took a lot to rile them. Conversely, a friend of mine--an old-school animal man who's had more than his share of bites, stings, scratches and diseases in the line of duty--reports that, with the exception of my carpets (he got them as part of a swap we did some years back) all the carpets he's dealt with have been nasty, unpredictable and prone to biting.<br /><br />James Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-10461441094801240662013-01-09T20:44:56.778-06:002013-01-09T20:44:56.778-06:00Thanks, James. I'm finding different opinions ...Thanks, James. I'm finding different opinions on the temper or irritability of carpet pythons--any opinion on that?<br />Gordon Gricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13068980330242909601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8049832311913108906.post-71625327627896714832013-01-09T20:41:01.390-06:002013-01-09T20:41:01.390-06:00A couple thoughts occur to me. If the snake only b...A couple thoughts occur to me. If the snake only bit after the mother tried to remove it, that sounds to me more like seeking the child out for warmth and probably coiling around the arm either in response to the child shifting position, or if the cat had already started poking at the snake, gearing up to defend itself. Any constriction would be incidental. This is not to trivialize it; I have owned carpet pythons, and I NEVER allowed one to form a complete coil around my neck. When I held Uriah, my larger one, I always made sure I knew what his head and rear were doing. (The average length of a carpet python, realistically, is usually less than 10 feet, most falling into the 7-8 foot range, which makes me wonder if the oft-cited 13-footer wasn't a case of mistaken identity--a similar case of confusion between boa constrictor and green anaconda gave us records of an 18-foot boa, when the next largest seemed to be maybe 12 or 13 feet.) Theoretically, if even a husky king or corn snake became wrapped around a toddler's neck, it could at least choke the kid into unconsciousness.<br /><br />At the same time, a predatory attack by a snake almost invariably involves using the mouth to secure the prey before pinning it with the coils. Since this did not happen--the baby got bitten in the "crossfire"--I would say this was not a misdirected feeding response. Carpets enthusiastically strike and constrict even dead prey, and the bites HURT--a predatory attack would have the snake latched on with its jaws and the baby howling her head off.<br /><br />Cats are often credited with ESP, seeing ghosts, etc. Now, without going off into the paranormal (as I've often done in the past) there's usually a simple explanation for a cat--or dog--hissing or growling at invisible enemies or phantom noises. Quite simply, they hear and/or smell better than we can (cats are no shakes at scenting compared to dogs, but I'd venture they're still leaps and bounds ahead of us)and can detect the movements of rodents, snakes, bats, lizards, what have you, behind woodwork or in closets.<br /><br />The Egyptians valued cats for alerting families to the presence of venomous snakes or scorpions (and even for killing them, if the cat went that far) and I've heard from time to time of cats defending an owner...a case from England comes to mind of a cat who severely clawed the face of a would-be child molester. But I suspect the cat in this case was merely reacting to the presence of a huge snake in its domain and its hissing was fortuitous, not a conscious effort to warn its owner.James Smithnoreply@blogger.com